News in English about Cuba focusing on Human Rights but including general news relevant to the issues.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Charlotte's top doctors, nurses off to help patients in Cuba

Charlotte's top doctors, nurses off to help patients in Cuba
Hannah Welker , WCNC 12:47 AM. EDT May 11, 2017

CONCORD, N.C. -- A group of Charlotte's top doctors and nurses are off
to Cuba, to do surgery on patients who can't afford it otherwise.

The doctors and nurses -- about 40 of them -- will perform more than 50
knee and hip replacements throughout the next week.

It's all part of Operation Walk Carolinas, a group made up of doctors
from OrthoCarolina, Carolinas HealthCare System, and Novant Health. They
offer free surgery and treatment to people in developing countries.

The national organization has been around for 20 years, but after a trip
to Panama in 2015, Dr. Walt Beaver and Dr. Bryan Springer knew Charlotte
needed one of its own.

"There are 90 patients waiting for us," Dr. Walt Beaver says. "We're
gonna do at least 50 or 60 joint replacements to get people up and
walking again, hence the Operation Walk."

This trip to Cuba is Charlotte's first mission. Flying in style, thanks
to a donated charter flight provided by Hendrick Aviation. The donation
is much appreciated since funding for these trips is often raised by the
medical providers themselves. They plan to hit the ground running for
the next week, to help Cuba as much as they can.

"Cuba actually has wonderful doctors," says Dr. Bryan Springer. "They
actually have wonderful healthcare training for their doctors, but they
simply just lack the resources to do something as advanced as hip and
knee replacement surgery."